Enchantress
by chelonian
Summary: Post-Hogwarts, during the war. Contains OotP spoilers. A muggle woman is summoned to Grimmauld Place by Professor Dumbledore. While learning about the magical world and doing what she can to help the Order, she falls for Sirius Black.
1. Late Night Arrival

Enchantress

Summary:  Post-Hogwarts, during the war.  Contains OotP spoilers.  A muggle woman is summoned to Grimmauld Place by Professor Dumbledore.  While learning about the magical world and doing what she can to help the Order, she falls for Sirius Black.

This is my first fan fiction story.  I don't think of myself as a fiction writer, but in reading the stories online, this idea came to me.  Although this is my first story, I'll try to keep my original character from being a Mary Sue.  Reviews are welcome and appreciated.  Email, however, is not a good way to reach me.  I don't check it often enough.

Chapter 1:  Late Night Arrival

She stood on the porch waiting for him to return.  A car pulled into the driveway next door.  As the man got out of the car, she saw him gazing in her direction.  Then he muttered something about needing to clean up the lot next door.  Looking around she wasn't sure what he was talking about.  The yard seemed well cared for.  Looking to her left she saw that the lot on the other side of the house was abandoned and realized he must be talking about that.

The door opened and she turned to see Joe and a red-headed motherly looking woman walk out to the porch.  Joe picked up their luggage and nodded toward the older woman.  "Ella, this is Molly Weasley.  She'll help you get settled in."

"Hi Molly.  It's nice to meet you.  I guess Joe already explained why I'm here?"

"Yes, Dumbledore will be by in the morning to tell us all more about his reasons for asking you here.  For now let's go inside and you can meet everyone."

Joe walked into the house with the luggage.  Ella and Molly followed close behind.

Ella watched as Joe disappeared down a long hall.  Molly guided her through the entry hall into a small sitting room on the right.  Two young men and a young woman sitting near the fire looked up from their conversation.

Molly introduced Ella to the friends.  "The tall red-head there is my son Ron and these are his two best friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.  This is Ella Norman, the young woman that Dumbledore invited for tomorrow's meeting."

The three surveyed Ella for a moment before Hermione spoke up.  "It's nice to meet you.  I'm sure you're overwhelmed by all of this.  I grew up in the muggle world and would be happy to tell you a bit about the wizarding world when we have the time."

"Thank you.  I'd appreciate that.  I don't seem to understand how any of this works."

Molly was standing near the door.  "We should go downstairs, dear.  You can meet everyone else down there."

Ella walked toward the door and looked back at the three by the fire.  "It's nice to meet you all."  They nodded and Harry gave her a small wave.  As she left the room, Molly pointed her wand at some dirty dishes and muttered a spell.  Ella let out a nervous giggle as she watched the dishes float down the hall in front of the older woman.

Ella noticed as they walked through the hall and down the stairs that this part of the house seemed far less inviting than the entry hall and sitting room.  Seeing her expression, Molly filled her in.  "We've been cleaning the place up, but it's a slow process and we've only gotten to the rooms that we spend most of our time in.  You should have seen the shape it was in when Sirius first moved back in."

The two women reached the bottom of the stairs and walked toward a door on the left.  As they approached they could here voices from inside.

"How old did you say she is?"

"Twenty-eight."  Ella recognized this voice as belonging to her friend Joe.

"And she's never performed any magic?  I don't understand why Dumbledore would think she can help.  She's obviously not a witch.  And an American, she won't even know her way around London.  We don't need another person to protect, here."

Ella opened the door in time to see the speaker.  He was a tall dark-haired man who appeared to be several years older than her.  She addressed him, "I couldn't agree more.  I really don't have any idea what I can do that would be any help to you.  I don't understand this world at all.  But Joe," she gestured toward her friend, "convinced me that Dumbledore must have his reasons and he seems to trust his judgment.  So, I'm here at least to find out why he's asked me."

The dark-haired man looked a bit embarrassed to know that she had overheard him questioning her arrival.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense.  I'm sure you are just as curious as the rest of us."

Ella could see that he was unconvinced but let it pass.  "It's okay.  I understand why you'd question my presence here.  And, yes, I am curious to find out why Dumbledore called me here."

Sirius was watching her as she spoke and decided that perhaps he would like to get on this woman's good side.  "I'm Sirius Black." He lifted her hand to his lips.  "Welcome to Grimmauld Place.  I apologize again for making you feel less than welcome."

She noticed the change in his manner.  "Ella Norman.  Thank you, and again there's no need for an apology."  She noticed for the first time that while several years older than her, Sirius was a very attractive man.

The two appraised each other for a moment before Molly broke in.  She cleared her throat and pointed to a sandy haired man standing across the kitchen.  "This is Remus Lupin and the young woman with green hair is Tonks.  You've met Sirius and of course you already know Joe.  My daughter Ginny is around somewhere.  She may have gone to bed, it's been a long day."

"Most of the rest of the Order will be here for the meeting tomorrow.  I understand some of them will be staying here as well after the meeting."

Joe walked over as Molly was speaking.  He pulled Ella into a slight hug and said quietly, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay.  Everyone here seems nice, but it's a lot to take in."  She was watching the dishes that Molly had floated downstairs as they now washed themselves in the kitchen sink.

"You'll get used to it soon enough.  You should get some sleep.  I put your things in your room upstairs."

Molly overheard this last part and said, "Yes, let's get you upstairs."

As they walked up two flights, Molly said, "You'll be sharing a room with Nymphadora, be careful she doesn't trip over you in the middle of the night.  That girl is quite the clumsy one."

Ella turned to her with a puzzled look.  "I don't remember meeting a Nymphadora.  Is she away right now?"

"Oh no, I just slip sometimes.  Nymphadora is Tonks' first name.  She prefers to be called by her last name, though."

"I can't say that I blame her."  Ella said as Molly opened a door.

"This is your room, dear."

"Thank you for showing me around and introducing everyone.  I know I must seem like a deer caught in the headlights, right now."

"It's not a problem at all dear.  Now what was that expression you used."

"Oh, 'a deer caught in the headlights.'  It just means that I must seem dazed and at a loss as to what to do."

"Not at all, dear.  This must be overwhelming for you.  Sleep well, now.  The bathroom is just down the hall there.  Just call me if you need anything."

"Thank you.  Goodnight."

"Goodnight, dear."

I won't make any guarantees about how quickly I'll update.  I have the story pretty well mapped out, but found that as I wrote this chapter I made a lot of changes as I went.  I'm far too selfish with my free time, so that might hold things up a bit.


	2. Meeting Dumbledore

Enchantress  
  
Disclaimer: Sorry, I forgot this on the first chapter. I do not own any of the characters or settings originally portrayed in the Harry Potter series.  
  
--  
  
Chapter 2: Meeting Dumbledore  
  
Ella awoke in the morning to a loud thump from the corner of the room.  
  
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. I was just looking for my notes." It was the woman who had been introduced as Tonks, but this time here hair was a pale blond.  
  
"It's okay; I should probably be getting ready for the meeting. Do you know how soon we'll be getting started?"  
  
"Well, I think Dumbledore's supposed to be here around 9:30, the others will be coming around 10:00."  
  
Ella looked around for a clock. "What time it is now?"  
  
"A bit after 8:00, I think." She hesitated, then continued, "Joe, told us that you've been living in the muggle world, how did you come to know Prof. Dumbledore?"  
  
"I didn't really. I've never actually talked to him. Joe and I were friends in college. I never knew he was a wizard. We sort of lost touch for a while after school, then a couple of months ago we ran into each other again.  
  
"I had just gone through a nasty break-up and was looking to get away for a while. When I met up with Joe, he offered me a place to stay. One day I noticed him watching me in an odd way."  
  
Tonks chuckled at this, "Well you can't really blame the guy living with you like that, he had to get some ideas."  
  
"Oh no, that's not what I mean. We tried a relationship back in college and realized pretty quickly that we're better off as friends. What I meant is that he seemed to be trying to figure something out about me. Then he went over to his desk pulled out some sort of paper and a feather quill wrote a quick note and then called his pet owl over. I was confused when he tied the note to the owl's leg and it flew off. He didn't realize until after he'd done it that he'd just given away that there was something I didn't know about him.  
  
"He then told me that he is a wizard. At first I thought he was joking, but he showed me by lifting me off the ground with a spell. He said that he had just written to his old school and that he thought I might be able to help them with something."  
  
Tonks looked at her and said, "You mean Joe knows why you're here, but he hasn't told you."  
  
"Well he said he has an idea of how I might be able to help and that Dumbledore agreed and urged him to bring me here right away. Joe seemed a little surprised by the urgency, but he agreed and we came here the next day."  
  
"I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'm going downstairs for some breakfast. Do you have everything you need?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks. I'll be down in a bit."  
  
Half an hour later, Ella walked down to the kitchen and found most of the people she had met the previous evening sitting around the table. Molly was just getting up from the table and motioned Ella to an empty seat next to Joe.  
  
"What would you like, dear?"  
  
Ella looked at the serving plates. "Some eggs and bacon would be great, thanks."  
  
Joe looked over at her. "You know, this meeting probably won't be easy for you. There will be a lot questions about why you are here, but I think in the end they'll see why we need you."  
  
"Joe, I don't even see why you need me. I can't perform magic. I don't know anything about your world. What could I possibly do to help?"  
  
"You may not know much about our world, but that doesn't mean you can't perform magic." Ella turned to the speaker and saw a wizard standing in the doorway with long grey hair and a long grey beard.  
  
"Albus. What do you mean she can perform magic?" This question came from Remus Lupin.  
  
"I didn't say she can, I simply said that we can't rule out the possibility that she can."  
  
Ella addressed the man she now understood to be Prof. Dumbledore, "I'm really lost here. You're saying that I might be able to perform magic? There's no reason to think that I can. Joe told me a little about witches and wizards. If I were a witch, I would have shown some sign of it when I was a kid."  
  
"Oh, I don't believe you are a witch, but that doesn't mean you can't perform magic."  
  
This time Sirius spoke up, "Of course it does. Muggles can't perform magic. If they could they wouldn't be muggles."  
  
"Right you are, Sirius. But what I'm saying is I don't believe Miss Norman is a muggle." Dumbledore looked around at the bewildered expressions worn by most of the occupants of the room. "I'll explain it all at the meeting. First I need to speak to Ella and Joe alone for a few minutes. Miss Norman. Mr. Graham."  
  
They walked into a small room off of the kitchen. When there, Dumbledore asked Joe to tell them what it was that made him suspect that Ella may be more than she seemed.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should have seen it sooner, when we were in school. But, I wasn't really looking for it then. After she came to stay with me, we were up late talking one night," he looked at Ella, "and you told me about that night at the party."  
  
He turned back to Dumbledore. "Some bastard was trying to force her into a room upstairs. When a couple of guys intervened, she wasn't surprised until later when she learned that they were good friends of the man who they stopped. It turns out the three of them have a reputation for taking advantage of girls at parties. Ella told me about it because she was grateful but surprised that they decided to stop their mate this time.  
  
"Obviously, this one incident could have happened with anybody, but it made me remember other times when we were in school. There were several times when she ended up in a dangerous situation of one sort or another, and every time she managed to escape unscathed. I don't remember her ever being sick, and many of the people close to her seemed to be surprisingly healthy as well."  
  
Ella scowled at this. "That's not true, I've been sick before. Remember that time during our junior year, when I missed a week of school?"  
  
"Yes, I thought about that. But I remembered that it was after my accident. The accident that I recovered from with remarkable speed."  
  
"I think what Mr. Graham is trying to say is that you have been performing magic without realizing it. The type of magic you've been using, though, is very hard to detect." Dumbledore walked toward her. "Now I'm going to cast an ancestry spell on you. I suspect that you may be descendant from a very powerful witch."  
  
He raised his wand and a silver light surrounded her. 


End file.
